Of COURSE I Know I Suck!

(*Ducks in case rotten tomatoes are thrown her way*)

I know…I know…I KNOW!  I suck!  I not only suck as a blogger, but I suck AND blow, which is pretty bad!  So how are you all?  Did everyone have a good holiday?

So yes, work has been crazy, then there were the holidays, then work got – and continues to be – crazier, and I hope to god I have a new job come springtime.  Also, I’ve been staying off the internet at work when it comes to fun stuff, so that by the time I get home, I’m too exhausted to blog.  All of which adds up to more excuses that just prove that… I suck! 

Anyway, I think rather than me continuing to promise that I’m going to blog more and not doing so, I’m just going to leave it at this – I promise to blog whenever I can find a spare second, which could add up to ginormous chunks of time that I don’t blog.  But on the other hand, whenever I do blog, hopefully that will lead to you guys saying, “Hey!  She blogged!  That means she’s still breathing!”  Because me always promising to blog and then not doing it isn’t fair to all of you. And it makes me look like the blogger version of the absentee parent who goes out for a gallon of milk and then never comes back!

Anyway, you didn’t think I’d come back without bearing gifts, did you?  Let me show you the latest thing I’m in love with, as I sample around the cosmetics world like a hooker at a convention in Vegas!  It’s two skin care products by the wonderful Ole Henriksen (http://www.olehenriksen.com/):

First, I’m totally loving his Skin Insulator with SPF 15.  

It’s a moisturizer made for dry and sensitive skin, but this is truly amazing stuff.  Why?  Because even though it’s made for dry skin, it goes on truly matte, which is a total first!  I’m not complaining, mind you, but I’ve never seen that before!  I’ve seen a crazy guy take a swing at a police officer ticketing his car, I’ve seen my psycho neighbor next door throw a book at another neighbor who came up to tell her to keep it down, and I’ve seen two pizza delivery guys playing with each other through their pants on the F train out of Queens (What? I live in NY!).  But I’ve never seen a dry skin moisturizer that leaves you matte AND actually moisturizes!  It’s a miracle.  If I’d posted this in December like I should have, it would have been a Christmas miracle, but as we’ve already mentioned above, I suck.

The second thing I love in the Ole Henriksen line is his Ultimate Lift Eye Gel.  

Now, again, as with the Skin Insulator, it does what you’d never think it could do.  It cools and refreshes, it decreases puffiness, all the fine things that an eye gel should do.  But it also moisturizes, which normally you need a separate cream for.   This does it all, and it doesn’t gunk up your under-eye concealer!  AND, Kate Gosselin apparently swears by it, so, y’know… hop right on out and buy it now!  (Okay, that was sarcasm.  But she does swear by it in some random issue of People Magazine.  But don’t let that put you off – you should still buy it for yourself, even if you don’t have eight kids and television cameras and press agents and resentful professional dance partners keeping you up all night).

Anyhow, both of these little goodies are reasonably priced ($35 for the moisturizer, $38 for the eye gel), and you can get them either online or at any Sephora (oh, and bonus - Ole Henriksen is one of Sephora's all natural and organic lines)!

So that’s about it for this round!  I must scoot, not only because it’s late, but because I really have to tinkle!  You lovey-doves stay warm, keep moisturized, and remain your fabulous selves that I know you always are!

TONS of love and hugs, and it really is great to be back with all of you again!

Love & kisses,

Lisa and Edison-schmoo head!

XO

The Bliss of a Good Purge!

ZOMG!!  I'm back!  I didn't fall off the face of the earth, I didn't get mowed down by the crosstown bus, and I haven't joined the Broadway cast of "Chicago" (although I'd totally rock at ripping tickets in half, you guys!).  


"Plus, she can't sing or dance.  Did she mention that to you?  That she can't sing or dance?"

Damn, I knew he'd sell me out! Anyway, what I did do is pass the paralegal certification course that I was taking (yaay!!!), and I also took the court assistant exam last weekend (which - gonna be honest - not sure that I did so well on that one!), so it's been a really busy past few months.  

So once the dust settled around here, I did something that every girl needs to do once in a while.  I hauled out my makeup case and did a good healthy purge!  Because let's face it - there are some things that seem like a good idea at the the time, and we realize later... ehhh, not so much.  Glitter navy blue eye shadow?  Mmmmm.... maybe on some girls, but I truly don't know what possessed me!  Three different smokey-plum shadows that are different brands, but essentially the same shade?  Yeah, two of those chumps have to go.  So after some of my more unfortunate impulse purchases went bye-bye, I was pretty pleased with the nice, streamlined collection that I have left over, which is what I'm going to tell you about today!  It's not a ton, but I just love blabbing about a few of my favorites!

1.  My ever-popular, ever-beloved Bare Escentuals Foundation and Mineral Veil.  Can't do without them - they cover everything and help me fake perfect skin.  

2.  So I have this big ol' honkin' jar of Laura Mercier Mineral Finishing Powder, which is just like BE Mineral Veil, except it comes in this jumbo jar.  Seriously - I've had it for about a year, and I'm only halfway through with it.  It's ginormous!  When it's empty, I could store all my bath towels and bed sheets in there.  Danielle and Teresa from "The Real Housewives of NJ" could store both of their enormous egos in there.  What I'm saying is IT'S BIG!  I may use it all up by the time I retire - but I'm not sure...

3.  My Aromaleigh stash!  My previous blog before this one was when I told you guys that the wonderful indie company, Aromaleigh Mineral Makeup, was going out of business.  My Aromaleigh stash now consists of: two blushes in "Pashmina" (this gorgeous mid-tone pinky mauve), two eye shadows in "Chocolate Heart" (a frosty taupe/cocoa), two eye shadows in "Fiona", a frosted ivory which is my go-to highlighter, and one shadow in "Charcoal" - which is a frosty charcoal, don'tcha know!  So those are all keepers.

4.  Two of my newest and favorite additions are both from Bobbi Brown - her blush in "Plum", and her lipstick in "Rum Raisin".   Both of which, by the way, I can totally sum up with this.  No lie, they are so beyond gorgeous, I don't know what else to say!

There's a few more things - mascara, liner, a few other lip colors and glosses - but that's the main BBQ that I get by with!

Of course, that's not to say that a streamlined kit works for everyone.  One of the most fun things about makeup is having a sizable stash sometimes!  Believe me, there are peeps over at the awesome Makeup Alley.com who post pictures of their makeup collections, and some of the pictures are of several big bins, or entire vanity table drawers, full of cosmetics!  It all depends on what works for you, what you use the most of, and whether a little or a lot makes you happy.  Enjoy it!  Have a ball with it!  

I'll try to blog more often, Bootsies!  I love you all and missed you terribly!  Now that my time has freed up, I'll be able to be around more.

Smooches, kisses, and glam-o-rama!

Lisa & Edison!

XO

A Sad Goodbye to Aromaleigh Cosmetics

Wow, gang...  


That's really all I can say to this sad news...


It seems that as of August 10th, Aromaleigh Cosmetics will be closing up shop for good.
  
I know from recent posts that Miss K had been very unhappy with some of the treatment her brand had been receiving around the web, some of the really unkind things that had been said about her as businesswoman.  All I know is, it was a great brand, she created some truly gorgeous colors, and it will sorely be missed.  


I'm surprised, but I'm not surprised, you know?   Miss K is a good person, but I know this business had been taking a lot out of her.  When she discontinued her lip colors this past year, I quickly bought six tubes of Gala lipstick and hoped for the best.  But she'd been fighting to keep her foothold as the mineral makeup market grew more competitive, so whenever something happened that she felt could potentially hurt her business, she'd really take it to heart.  


Of course, as Miss K takes her beautiful makeup and rides off into the sunset, she leaves us with one last discount code, ADIEU35, which will give you 35% off of your entire purchase for new orders.


So let's take this moment to wish Miss K and her staff good luck, best wishes, and thanks for helping us all be glamour pusses while it lasted!


Love to all of them, and to all of you,


Lisa and Edison
XO

So shines a good deed in a weary world...

Hello my sweeties!

How's your ridiculously hot summer going? Here in the Big Apple (or the Baked Apple, har dee har har!), it's only been "summer" for about three days, and we are smack dab in the middle of our first heat wave!  Be sure to wear your cruelty free sunblock, like this new brand I just discovered right over at the drugstore, Ocean Potion! Here's their website - http://www.opotion.com/  - and they have all sorts of awesome, inexpensive stuff to protect you from the sun, and best of all, they're non-animal tested!  WHOOT!!  I've been wearing their Cool Dry Touch SPF 50, and it's great stuff!  Unscented, dries quickly, and it's sweat proof.  Good good stuff for sure!

Also, don't forget to protect your kisser!  Lots of sunblocks are available in lip glosses and lipsticks now, and it will likely say so on the packaging.  A great cruelty free lip gloss to try is Laura Geller's Shine and Shield SPF 15.  It has a lovely, light milk-chocolate flavor to it, and comes in three gorgeous shades.  I have Fresco Gelato and Fresco Berry, and I'm nuts about them.  Here's Laura's site so you can check them out for your own bad selves!  http://www.laurageller.com/

My main reason for posting today is to show you this article, compliments of a buddy of mine (thanks, Billy!).  One of the dogs tortured by the absolutely horrible Michael Vick has found a new home, thanks to our buddies at Best Friends Animal Society http://www.bestfriends.org/.  Here's the article, http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/sportatorium/2010/06/one_of_michael_vicks_dogs_find.php, and really gang, I don't know what to say.  Mr. Richard Hunter, you and your wife are wonderful, awesome human beings, dude.  I hope I can find a way to get this to you so that you know how admired you are by opening your heart and your home to poor little Mel.  In my humble opinion?  There isn't enough jail time for someone like Michael Vick, but the fact that at least some of those poor dogs are able to be placed is some solace.  And huge kudos to Pumpkin too!

Well, gotta make like an egg and scramble!  My boss just handed me a project, so I must get moving.  Much love and air-conditioning to all you and yours - which reminds me, don't forget to keep your fuzzy four-legged love-bugs cool this season!  Never EVER leave them in your car unattended, and try to keep them in the coolest room you can find.  Mr. Edison gets a deluxe size bowl of ice cubes before I head out every day, which means he actually looks forward to me leaving for work, ha ha!

Okay, must get going!

Love and bunny snuggles,

Lisa and Edison
XO

A Cruelty-Free Thought For the Day...

Hello, my sweeties!

Well, I'm a month shy of completing my class, but of course, it's always busiest and craziest right towards the end!  As a result, I haven't had a second to spare looking up or trying out new products to tell you about, but I wanted to stick my head in here and send you guys my hugs!

So to that end, today's update is nothing more than a really lovely quote from author Alice Walker ("The Color Purple") about how kindness should apply to all beings, regardless of gender, race, religion - or how many legs they have to scoot their fabulous selves around on!

"The animals of the world exist for their own reasons. They were not made for humans any more than black people were made for white, or women created for men." -- Alice Walker

Isn't that beautiful?  I never heard that before, but I think it's particularly appropriate for our little blog.  It shows that no matter who we are, or how different, we all should love and respect each other.

So till I have some spare time once again, here's a hug, a smooch...

Oooh! And a frappuccino!  Yaaay!  One of those for everybody!

Aaanyway....M'WAAAH!!!

Bunches o' love, and a little Starbucks,

Lisa and Edison!
XO

If you're thinkin' about stinkin'...

BAAAYBEES!

How goes it?  Good weekend?  Everybody get laid? (Hee!)

The warm weather is upon us, ladies, and I'm about to let you in on a horrible secret I've suffered with for years.  When I funk up, I STIIIINNKK!!  STINK!  The ironic thing about it is that I'm totally paranoid about ever smelling bad.  I'll sniff myself about a dozen times a day to make sure all the good scents are holding together, and if they're not, I avoid my co-workers like the plague.  Without the help of a good strong deodorant, I'm smelling like Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young on Day 3 out at Woodstock.  It's a smell that could best be described as "Hardened Criminal", you know?  So I'm big on soaps, perfumes, showers, toothpaste, and our buddy deodorant.  It's a must in my world.

And when I tell you I need tough deodorants, I'm not kidding.  For as much as I really love the idea of using all-natural or organic deodorants, they just don't work on my funk.  If they work for you, go for it!  The fewer chemicals on your body, the better.  But I need the hard stuff, all those new "clinical strength" deodorants/antiperspirants are made for me!

Before I go any further, I do want to debunk the old myth that antiperspirants and some deodorants cause breast cancer.  Let me state firmly for you that there is no link between the two.  None. Allow me to linkify you to the article from The American Cancer Society themselves that totally flushes this silly Internet rumor right down the crapper:  Antiperspirant Use Does Not Increase Risk Of Breast Cancer.  And there you go - can't do much better than The American Cancer Society, now can you?  And with that fear put to rest, please, allow me to continue to regale you with how I smell like a farm animal unless I'm using the best deodorant money can buy.

So I'm loving the idea of these clinical strength deodorants/antiperspirants, but the problem is, they all seem to be the animal-tested drugstore brands.  What to do? 

Here's what to do!  Our friends at the lovely and glorious cruelty-free Revlon just happen to be the parent company of Mitchum deodorants!  And Mitchum deodorant has many versions of Lady Mitchum, which I love.  And now...

See that?  See what the label says?  CLINICAL STRENGTH Lady Mitchum!!  Cruelty-Free and keeps yours truly fresh as a freakin' daisy all day, even in hot weather!  It doesn't stain my clothes, it dries right away, it's cheap, it's cruelty-free, and your grateful and stink-free blogger is finally a happy woman!

Much love, and stay dry in this heat!

Lisa and Edison (whos pits don't stink, but his feet smell like Fritos!)

XO

Flying some friendlier skies.

Hey sweeties!
Though I've been totally busy with my class, I didn't want to neglect this blog, and I didn't want to neglect any of you, because you're awesome!  So this week is going to be a "copy and paste" of a post of mine from another board.

My ultimate goal in bringing this blog to you is to hopefully shed some light on great cruelty-free brands of makeup, but other animal-related stuff too, such as CF household products, animal charities and businesses, celebs that devote themselves to animals, etc.  So every once in a while, I'll go off the beaten path and not talk about a specific makeup brand, but something in the news that I got a peek at.  
Here's a link a friend of mine posted at this other board, and it's truly horrifying:

Delta offers money for lost dog

Just reading this will give you chills for sure.  Here's my accompanying post in reaction to my friend posting the link:

It's horrible, absolutely horrible. This is a cautionary tale to anyone deciding to fly with their pet. All major airlines - not just Delta - will treat your lost pet exactly like they will treat a lost suitcase. And unfortunately, that's actual policy - they don't treat it as a lost living being. It's a lost piece of your luggage to them, and nothing more. It's given no more or less importance - you literally fill out a form, and hey, they'll call you if it turns up. Their attitude is: "throw enough money at the flyer, and they can buy a new dog or cat."
The only airline that gives you any peace of mind for flying with your pets is Jet Blue, because they don't cargo animals at all. Each flight has two spots reserved for pets to ride in the cabin with their owners. You book over the phone and double check that a spot on your particular flight is open for your pet. It's $50 (or it was), and your pet flies with YOU. When I very briefly moved to CA for a few months in 2005, I made damn sure that I flew Jet Blue so that Edison would be in the cabin with me. Other airlines will let you bring your pet into the cabin for a fee, but with Jet Blue, it's a little better - since they don't cargo to begin with, there's no fear of any mixup and them possibly forcing you to cargo your pet. Of course, if you have too big of a pet, that leaves you with very little choice.
Poor little Paco - his owners must be heartbroken. Like free plane tickets will ever bring him back.

So it's a very sad tale, but just please, please be careful any time you fly with your pet. Just know that other than Jet Blue (to my knowledge), the airlines aren't going to care if your pet is lost, harmed or killed.  A couple of free tickets are supposed to be equivalent to the loss of your fur-baby, and it's not right.  Please show this link to anyone you know who is getting ready to travel with their pet, and make sure they do the research for safe ways to travel.

Edison and I are sending Paco all the positive thoughts we can that he's ultimately found safe and reunited with his people.  

Much love to him and to all of you,

Lisa and Edison
XO